Solo Assault Guide by Korvana
As of 2014, Assault can now be entered by 1-6 players. Most players will take this opportunity to clear Assaults solo, but some are flatly impossible to complete alone. This guide will give concise, yet comprehensive, instructions on completing each Assault, as well as giving a recommended job/subjob combination, difficulty level, and number of players needed. Much of the fluff will be removed, as all players are assumed to be wearing iLevel 117+ equipment. This guide is a work-in-progress, and will be complete sometime around 4/12, as I will be running the missions myself. Getting to Captain When you clear an Assault for the first time, you will receive 5 Mercenary Rank points. By completing all 5 Assaults for your current Rank, you will get the 25 points necessary to complete the next Promotion quest, beginning with Promotion: Private First Class and ending with Promotion: First Lieutenant. Completing all 50 Assaults plus Nyzul Isle Investigation (at least once; reaching floor 100 is not necessary) will allow you to flag Promotion: Captain. Rytaal will hold three Imperial Army I.D. Tags for you, refreshing them every 24 hours. You can hold onto one tag yourself, allowing you to stockpile up to four at a time. Once you reach Captain rank, Rytaal will hold four tags for you, increasing your total to five. Filling your Memoires If you are working towards obtaining a Mythic Weapon, you must complete An Imperial Heist and then flag Duties, Tasks, and Deeds. You will need to clear all 50 Assaults again, but before exiting, you must trade the appropriate book to the Rune of Release. * Mamool Ja Training Grounds assault missions must be recorded in the Mamool Ja Journal. * Lebros Cavern assault missions must be recorded in the Lebros Chronicle. * Leujaoam Sanctum assault missions must be recorded in the Leujaoam Log. * Periqia assault missions must be recorded in the Periqia Diary. * Ilrusi Atoll assault missions must be recorded in the Ilrusi Ledger. Quick Reference Difficulty: -- -- -- -- -- Impossible : Private Second Class Leujaoam Cleansing Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD. * Kill all 14 Leujaoam Worms. Consult map. * Rune of Release will spawn at (I-8), through the north tunnel. My run: Cleared in 8:59 as DRG/SAM. ---- Imperial Agent Rescue Solo Difficulty: Duo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Healer/tank with low evasion. SCH, RDM, PLD, BLU. * Make the Mamool Ja use TP moves to break down gates, then check the Pot Hatch to find Brujeel. There are three gates in the N, SW, and SE corners, and Brujeel will be behind a random one. * Lure a Mamool Ja to a gate and put yourself right up against it, so that any TP moves they use will hit the gate behind you. Do not allow a pet to gain enmity, as this will turn the mob. ** There are four weapon-wielding Mamool Ja in the pit, and three more in the cavern area in the NW, NE, and S corners. Avoid or kill the NIN-type Mamool Ja that do not have weapons. ** The gate will break when the gate is hit with Firespit 4 times, or once with Axe Throw or Staff Toss. *** To quickly build a mob's TP, use low-delay low-damage weapons like Bronze Dagger or Ash Club, purchasable at Hagakoff (Aht Urhgan Whitegate (K-10)) and remove Subtle Blow gear. *** Axe Throw and Staff Toss become unusable after the Mamool Ja loses its weapon, which occurs frequently (~20%) upon receiving a critical hit or weaponskill. If it loses its weapon, quickly kill it using black magic or your main weapon, and grab a new Mamool Ja from the NW, NE, or S corner if necessary. **** Waiting for Firespit to come up 4 times is a terrible strategy. ** Being attacked by two or more mobs at a time may prevent you from checking the Pot Hatch. Kill quickly if this happens. * Rune of Release will spawn at (J-8) in the middle. My run: Failed as RNG/DNC. Did not anticipate the high likelihood of breaking weapons. Failed as DRG/RDM. Wyvern often turned mobs, and could not dismiss without losing primary heal source. Cleared in 11:31 as SCH/RDM. With Protect V and the Wayfarer set, I was hit for 60 each and heals were easy to come by. (Phalanx brought damage received to 0, which does not grant enemies TP, and Wayfarer gives Refresh +3. /RDM was therefore unnecessary; recommend /BLM for extra INT.) Two Mamools lost their weapons before Staff Toss was used; Brujeel was behind first gate. I believe I could have checked all three gates within the time given. ---- Excavation Duty Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Treasure Hunter, high attack speed, movement speed. THF/DNC, DNC/THF, NIN/THF, MNK/THF. * Break all 5 Brittle Rock walls. * Damage against Brittle Rock caps at 20 from any source. Brittle Rock has roughly 2,325 HP. ** Anecdotes on main walkthrough indicate damage cap of 22. ** Maximize attack speed through Haste+, Dual Wield/Martial Arts, Double/Triple/Quadruple Attack, low-delay weapons, and buffs like Haste, Haste Samba, and Saber Dance. Box Step level 5 increases average damage by roughly 2 points. Food seems to have little to no effect. ** Alternatively, a /BLM can cast Bio II, Burn, Choke, and Shock, which together will inflict 17 damage per Tick. This strategy has not been tested solo. * Kill Qiqirn to obtain Qiqirn Mine. To use them, attack a wall, use the Qiqirn Mine, and stay engaged until it detonates (10 seconds). Qiqirn Mine will destroy the wall instantly. Disengaging from the wall will waste the mine. ** Treasure Hunter may or may not increase Qiqirn Mine drop rate. ** Causing a Bomb to Self-Destruct near a wall has no effect. * See map. After the first wall, destroy the northern wall next, then head southeast and destroy the final three. Kill all Qiqirn along the way; Qiqirn Mine is not , so you can carry multiple at a time. * Rune of Release will spawn at (E-10). Use Spectral Jig to avoid Bombs. My run: Cleared in 19:05 as THF/DNC with Atoyac (97 DMG 200 Delay) and Aphotic Kukri (91 DMG 200 Delay), 25% Haste, 25+5% Dual Wield, 9% Double Attack, 16+2% Triple Attack, and Haste Samba. Base damage against walls was roughly 13-18, 14-20 after inflicting Box Step level 5, with critical hits of 18-20. Obtained two Qiqirn Mines, but probably could have destroyed all 5 walls without any drops. ---- Seagull Grounded Solo Difficulty: Duo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Movement Speed, Flee, fast pulls. THF/RDM, BRD/THF. This Assault should not be attempted solo on a spotty internet connection. * Escort Excaliace to the end. Unlike normal escort missions he cannot be controlled, though his behavior is predictable. ** He will begin moving forward at 50% speed when you come within 10' of him. His path through the map is randomly set at the start of the Assault, and cannot be changed. ** There are about 30 invisible "checkpoints" along his path. *** If he arrives at a checkpoint and you are not within 10' of him, he will attempt to escape at 75% speed, heading back to the entrance. "Now's my chance!" **** If he returns to the entrance, you will fail the Assault. *** If you are within 5' of him at a checkpoint, he will stop. "Someone's been eating too much garlic..." Move more than 5' away and he will resume moving. **** It is useful to trigger as many "garlic" messages as you can to figure out where exactly his checkpoints are. *** If he is attempting to escape, coming to within 10' of him at his next checkpoint will stop him. "Damn..." Move more than 10' away and he will resume moving forward. ** In the first half, he will investigate one of each pair of rooms (three total). If the room is empty, he will move to the end, stay still for about 20 seconds and then resume moving. *** If there are monsters in the room, he will say "Over to you." and attempt to escape at 75% speed. He will continue doing this until the monsters are cleared. **** If he appears to be heading into a crab-filled room, run ahead of him and aggro them as quickly as you can using Dia/Diaga or job abilities. When you have all three or he says "Over to you.", pull them back to just before the intersection, and hold Excaliace there until the monsters are dead. ** In the second half, he will choose either the West or East path. If a monster aggros him (i.e. if he sees or hears a monster) he will say "Wh-what the...!?" or "Uh-oh." or "H-help!!!" and begin fleeing at 100% speed. He cannot be stopped while fleeing. He will travel about two map squares backward until he gets tired ......, and then stay still for about 40 seconds. If you do not reach him after he catches his breath, he will attempt to escape at 75% speed. *** Try to quickly kill any monsters that he flees from, or pull them back to his position. If pulling, be careful not to lose aggro; periodically attack it again while running. You will have some free time to kill the monster while Excaliace recovers, but if he recovers while the monster is nearby, he will flee again. However, this is preferable to him attempting to escape, as he will not stop in that case. ** When he reaches the SW corner of (H-9) he will pause for 20 seconds. * When he reaches (F-11)/(G-12) the Rune of Release will spawn nearby. * If you are attempting this with two or more players, assign one player to escort while the rest kill monsters, first in the three rooms and then in the two possible paths. Done correctly, he should never attempt to escape. My run: Cleared in 29:01 as THF/DNC. It took three attempts to clear out a single crab room without letting him escape too far. Five monsters aggroed him on the West path, and he eventually fled all the way back to (H-6/7). My luck was fairly good; I give a less than 40% chance of success on any given solo attempt regardless of player skill. ---- Golden Salvage Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD. * Out of 12 Cursed Chests scattered around the area, 11 will be Mimics, and one will clear the objective. ** Mimics have about 3500 HP and will continually use Draw-In. They can be killed in under a minute by any DD. ** Consult map. Pick a direction and hug one wall, opening any Cursed Chests you come across. * Rune of Release will spawn at (H-7). My run: Cleared in 14:02 as DRG/SAM. Objective was in the last possible spawn, forcing me to kill all 11 Mimics. Private First Class Orichalcum Survey Solo Difficulty: Impossible Trio Difficulty: 6-Man Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD. This Assault is entirely luck-based. Difficulties given are based on testimony. * Get a Pickaxe from Mulwahah (H-8), and use it to mine up an Orichalcum Ore. * To mine, simply touch a Mining Point; do not trade the Pickaxe to it. If you break your Pickaxe, return to Mulwahah to get a new one. ** If a worm spawns in the Mining Point, kill it and wait for its body to disappear. ** If the Mining Point disappears, move on and find another one. ** Consult map. There are two paths to explore: One going NE and wrapping around W then SE into a hole, and another going E/NE into a hole and then wrapping around SW, both returning to the start. * Once the Orichalcum Ore is found, all Qiqirns will become aggressive to the ore carrier. Avoid them with Invisible, or kill/sleep them. * After the ore carrier speaks to Mulwahah, the Rune of Release will spawn nearby. My run: TBA ---- Preemptive Strike Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD with mage sub or ranged attack (e.g. Pebble) * Kill all 13 Mamool Ja. ** Consult map. There are 4 Mamool Ja on the top level; kill or aggro those before jumping down, as there are no paths back up. ** Use Wide Scan to track down any Mamools you may have missed. Mamools on the upper level can be pulled using Dia, Stone, or a ranged attack. ** Be sure to have your weapon drawn before you aggro too many of them. If they begin spamming magic or ninjutsu, you will be unable to use weaponskills as you will not "be in combat." * Rune of Release will spawn at (I-7). My run: Cleared in 17:02 as DRG/SAM. Killed 12 Mamools in 8 minutes, last Mamool was on the upper level. I would have certainly failed if I did not have Pebbles in my mog sack. ---- Lebros Supplies Duo Difficulty: Impossible Trio Difficulty: 4-Man Difficulty: 5-Man Difficulty: 6-Man Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Movement Speed+ job abilities or gear. One each: BRD/THF, COR/THF, SMN/THF; Others: THF/BRD, DNC/THF. * Feed all 12 soldiers. See map for their locations (2 WSW, 2 SSW, 3 NW, 2 N, 3 SE). * Speaking to a soldier while carrying a food item will give it to them, even if they are full. ** When speaking to a hungry soldier without food, they will say "Have you brought the provisions?" *** A hungry soldier, when fed, will say "Thank Zahak you're here. I was about to start eating my boots!" ** When speaking to a full soldier without food, they will say "There's nothing like a full belly to put the power back in your sword swing. I pity the next monster that crosses my path!" *** After feeding a group of soldiers, it is wise to make sure they all give you this message, especially if you are forgetful. *** A full soldier, when fed, will say "You brought more supplies? Well, you can never have too much..." * When you start the Assault, and after feeding a soldier, talk to Yazuhma (H-8) to receive a food item. ** Yazuhma can only speak to one player at a time. Quickly advance through the conversation to allow your partners to get their food. ** Each soldier requires 7 "points" of food to become full. Yazuhma will give you one of the following items at random: *** Bison Steak: 5 points *** Coeurl Sub: 4 points *** Bison Jerky: 3 points *** Pea Soup: 2 points *** White Bread: 1 point ** In each group of 2-3 soldiers, each soldier will carry a unique buckler. This is an easy way to tell them apart. See legend on bottom-right of map. * Be sure all party members are familiar with the walkthrough for this Assault. The best strategy is to send each party member off to feed a different group, and then have them help others once they are finished. The sixth player should be sent to the NW group as it is the furthest away. ** At the beginning of the Assault, use Fleet Wind (if SMN), Bolter's Roll (if COR), and Soul Voice+Troubadour+Chocobo Mazurka (if BRD). Anyone without these roles should get their food from Yazuhma while the others are casting, and avoid using Flee, Powder Boots, or Hermes Quencher until all other Quickening effects wear off. *** Give Crawlers a wide berth to avoid losing Quickening. *** While Flee cools down, players can re-apply their own Quickening ability/song/blood pact, or use Sprinter's Shoes. * Rune of Release will spawn next to Yahzuma. My run: TBA ---- Requiem Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD, prefer blunt damage type. MNK/DNC. * Kill all the monsters. ** The south half has 6 Draugars and 2 Bhoots. The north half has the same, plus 2 Doomeds. * Rune of Release will spawn at (F-9). My run: Cleared in 12:52 as MNK/WHM. Banish removes damage resistance from Undead, but only improved damage output by about 20%. Would have preferred Haste Samba. ---- Lamia No.13 Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD. * Kill Lamia No.13. ** Locate her on Wide Scan. * Rune of Release will spawn at (H-8). My run: Cleared in 2:15 as DRG/SAM. Superior Private Escort Professor Chanoix Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD, prefer blunt damage type. MNK/DNC. * Protect Clavauert B Chanoix until he reaches the room at either (J-5) or (G-9). ** You can cast Protect, Shell, and Cure on him, but no other buffs. ** Chanoix wanders the cavern at random. At times he will pause for up to a minute, or switch directions. He will speak when he begins moving. ** He can be targeted on Wide Scan. It is useful to keep track of him this way. * The monsters in this area are Ghosts and Skeletons. Aggroing too many Ghosts at a time can lead to a Blizzard IV spam, so stay cautious. * Rune of Release will spawn at (I-8). My run: Cleared in 11:52 as DRG/RDM. Got as low as 380 HP with three Ghosts and four Skeletons on my tail. ---- Sagelord Elimination Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD. * Kill Sagelord Molaal Ja. ** He can be located on Wide Scan. ** After losing 20% HP, he will use Warm-Up, and then run away at 200% speed. You can attack him once or twice while he is using Warm-Up. ** Mamool Ja Trainees that he passes will link to you. ** He will Warp out when he reaches 20% health. * Rune of Release spawns at (I-7) My run: Cleared in 6:13 as DRG/RDM. ---- Troll Fugitives Solo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any DD. * Kill all the Broken Troll Soldiers. Consult map. * Rune of Release will spawn at (H-9). My run: Cleared in 10:50 as DRG/RDM. ---- Saving Private Ryaaf Extermination Lance Corporal Shanarha Grass Conservation Breaking Morale Evade and Escape Shooting Down the Baron Demolition Duty Corporal Counting Sheep The Double Agent Siegemaster Assassination Building Bridges Searat Salvation Sergeant Supplies Recovery Imperial Treasure Retrieval Apkallu Breeding Stop the Bloodshed Apkallu Seizure Sergeant Major Azure Experiments Blitzkrieg Wamoura Farm Raid Defuse the Threat ---- Lost and Found Solo Difficulty: Duo Difficulty: Recommended Jobs: Any. * Find the Eye of Zahak. * Talk to Tian Tian to make her follow you. If another party member talks to her, she will follow them. ** Talking to Tian Tian will make her stop for 10-30 seconds while she surveys the area. She will attempt to locate the nearest ??? within about 25'. Her messages will go from "I don't think we'll find anything around here." (none in area) to "Yes!... it's very very close.". *** If she adds "But... I don't think this is it.", the nearby ??? is seaweed, which is useless and adds a Weight effect. *** If she adds "Oh! There is a frighteningly powerful energy in the air here!...", the nearby ??? will spawn a Crab. *** Tian Tian will continue locating the nearest ??? even if it is one you have already examined. Be sure you explore separate parts of the map. *** These messages cannot be used to locate the Eye of Zahak, only seaweed, crabs, or hints. ** If the ??? is not seaweed or a Crab, and you are "very very close," begin targeting around the area while walking slowly around. It will take a second or so for FFXI to update your location. The ??? will appear when you are within 1' of it, and disappear when you move away. * Examining a hint ??? will add new messages to Tian Tian's divination regarding the Eye of Zahak's location. ** With one hint, she will say which player is closest to the Eye. *** By placing multiple players in different locations, you can use triangulation to determine its location. ** With two hints, she will say the direction the Eye is located in. *** A solo player can locate the Eye by triangulating from different locations. ** With three hints, she will give the distance as well. * Rune of Release will spawn at (I-9) on the ship. My run: Cleared in 11:05 with 6 players. Cleared in 22:20 as solo. Chief Sergeant Imperial Code Marids in the Mist Egg Conservation Operation: Snake Eyes Deserter Second Lieutenant Red Versus Blue Azure Ailments Operation: Black Pearl Wake the Puppet Desperately Seeking Cephalopods First Lieutenant Bloody Rondo The Susanoo Shuffle Better Than One The Price is Right Bellerophon's Bliss